I find today’s Gospel reading very edifying and very refreshing. Often when the scribes or the Pharisees interact with Jesus in the Gospels, it is very confrontational. However, in today’s Gospel, the scribe seems to be genuinely interested in Jesus’ answer to a question that was often asked by those who interpreted God’s law. Jesus answers the question today directly, rather than in a parable. Actually, Jesus gives a double answer to the question, linking our love of God to our love of neighbor in a way that the two cannot be separated. The scribe is impressed with Jesus’ answer, agreeing that love of God and love of neighbor transcend our religious rituals. Jesus also affirms the scribe, stating that he is not far from the kingdom of God. We do not know, however, whether or not the scribe became one of Jesus’ disciples.
What Jesus asks of this scribe, what Jesus asks of all of us, is to follow him with a total commitment of mind, body and heart in the way we love God and love our neighbor. That is not always easy, right? It is hard to love people unconditionally when they are attacking us or causing problems. We all know that. The path of discipleship is often a very difficult path.
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